THOUSAND OAKS, SIMI VALLEY : Business Leaders Become ‘Principals’ in Visit to Schools

It’s one thing for business leaders to criticize public schools from off campus, and it’s another for them to witness school management firsthand.

“You get to a point where you believe all the negative things being said about the schools and the quality of education,” said Dale A. Schnittjer, executive vice president at Teledyne Electronics of Newbury Park. “But when you look at the amount of talent here, you begin to think otherwise.”

Schnittjer tagged along with Thousand Oaks High School Principal Lance Erie on Tuesday as more than 20 business executives in Ventura County became “principals for a day.”

The daylong event at schools throughout California highlighted the second annual Educational Partnership Week, a statewide event that calls on the business community to work as a partner with public schools to improve education.

With business executives in tow, principals performed their usual routines, attending staff meetings and sports events and dealing with discipline problems, health issues and budgets.

Schnittjer visited several classes, including drama, art, English as a second language and the computer lab, and chatted with faculty members of a high school that has about 70% of its 2,200 students are in college prep classes or on the honor roll.

Schnittjer and other visiting executives suggested that schools imitate corporate managers in adopting a leaner, more cost-effective stance. He also said business could help. For example, he said, if a business upgrades its computer system, the company could donate its old computer to a school.

Judy Mikels, an art gallery owner and Simi Valley councilwoman, said her day with Principal Kathy Scroggins at Hillside Junior High changed her view of the management of the Simi Valley school.

“I was impressed with the way Kathy and her crew are managing things,” Mikels said. “They do a lot for student pride. I saw a different picture from the one I visualized.”

Still, she was disturbed by the physical condition of the school and said administrators can learn from the business world.

“Schools need to look at the types of management styles that are successful in business,” Mikels said.

“Maybe districts have gotten used to the status quo,” she said, “but it would be money well spent to take a fresh look at things.”